In the games, the character alternates between two forms: a massive, demonic boar-like creature and a tall, heavily built Gerudo, a race of humanoid desert nomads. Ganondorf is the archenemy of the series' central protagonist, Link, and the leader of the Gerudo. His specific motives vary from game to game, but most often involve capturing Princess Zelda and planning to conquer Hyrule and the world at large.[1][2][3][4][lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] To this end, he seeks the Triforce, a powerful magical relic that grants any wish its bearer desires, and usually manipulates several other villains to realize his ambitions.

In most games, he possesses the Triforce of Power, a third of the full Triforce that gives him godlike strength, boundless mystical power and makes him invulnerable to all but the most powerful sacred weapons, such as the Master Sword. The character has been well received by critics, becoming one of the most popular and recognizable villains in gaming.

Contents

Ganon has two basic forms that appear throughout the series: one that is his demonic and porcine form, while the other is his humanoid Gerudo form. In the original The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Four Swords Adventures, and A Link Between Worlds, he is depicted as a blue, porcine biped wielding a trident. In Ocarina of Time, his demonic form bears resemblance to a giant Minotaur wielding two large swords. This game marks the first appearance of his humanoid form, a physically imposing and armor-clad Gerudo. He displays physical traits typical of Gerudo: dark skin (with his having an olive green tint), a sharp bird-like nose, amber eyes, and connecting red eyebrows and hair. Ganondorf is 230 cm (7 ft. 6½ in.)[5] and towers over Link and other characters. His Gerudo form reappears in The Wind Waker, albeit noticeably aged with a cloak and two swords, as well as in Twilight Princess with thicker armor, a glowing white wound in his chest that originated from his failed execution, and the same sword that was used during the execution attempt.

Ganon was originally known as "Hakkai" during development of the original The Legend of Zelda, in reference to a humanoid pig character known as Zhu Bajie (Cho Hakkai in Japanese) from the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West.[6] The character is given the surname "Dragmire" and the alias "Mandrag Ganon", which means "Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves", in the English version of the A Link to the Past instruction manual.[7] These names have not appeared in any of the games or other manuals, though the name "Ganondorf Dragmire" is used once on the official Zelda website.[8]

Ganon is named inconsistently throughout the series. In the Japanese versions of the first three games, his name is anglicized as "Gannon".[9][10][11] This spelling appears in two Western releases: the original The Legend of Zelda, and the non-canonical Zelda's Adventure.[12] Since The Adventure of Link, the name is given as "Ganon". A Link to the Past uses "Ganon", while Ocarina of Time predominately uses "Ganondorf". Nintendo's current convention is to use "Ganon" for his beast form and "Ganondorf" for the character's human form.[citation needed]

For the development of Ocarina of Time, Ganon was conceived by character designer Satoru Takizawa. Takizawa had imagined Ganon as a "crooked and complex thief, who was basically an all around abominable human being".[13] However, script director Toru Osawa claimed that this image was "not the case". He began to speak of how Ganondorf was meant to have "parts where he is rather good", comparing him to the character of Raoh in Fist of the North Star.[14] With this idea in mind, Takizawa created a tentative model of Ganondorf based on actor Christopher Lambert. The end result of Ganondorf was very different from this model, with three forms of the character being created: one of Ganondorf in the beginning; one of Ganondorf seven years later, with longer hair; and one of Ganon in the end.[14] Since Ganon appeared as a boar-like creature, Takizawa decided that Ganondorf should transform into such at the end of the game, despite the opinions of other staff members. He decided on making Ganon a beast "with the feeling of a pig" to reference A Link to the Past.[14]

Ganon is depicted as the ultimate embodiment of pure evil and mindless hatred. His roles range from savage beast to scheming tyrant to godlike entity, sometimes in the course of a single game. The book Hyrule Historia reveals that Ganon's hatred is so intense that he can survive even the total obliteration of his body and remain conscious. [citation needed]

Despite these negative traits, he does show some knowledge of the fine arts; most notably, he is shown playing his own leitmotif on an organ in Ocarina of Time. Ganondorf is very arrogant, believing himself to be completely invulnerable. Because of this, he never considers anything to be a threat and appears to put minimal effort into fighting. Unsurprisingly, Ganondorf is often in total disbelief when he is defeated, once bursting into laughter from having been outsmarted at the last second. He is not completely beyond sympathy, though; in The Wind Waker, Ganondorf claims that one of his motives for seeking the Triforce and conquering Hyrule was to escape from the deathly winds of his homeland, revealing that he coveted the lush lands of the kingdom. Zelda also expresses pity for him in Ocarina of Time in his attempt to steal the Triforce when its power was too great for him to control.

He is portrayed in Ocarina of Time as an ambitious, cunning manipulator, gaining the king's trust before betraying him and tricking Link into opening the Door of Time, which allows him to access the Triforce. In Twilight Princess, Ganondorf is stated to have been known as a demon thief and an evil magic wielder renowned for his ruthlessness. In that same game, it is when he obtains the Triforce of Power that develops a conscienceless god complex, believing himself to have been chosen by the goddesses who created Hyrule to be its ruler. In The Wind Waker, Ganondorf is much older and prepares for the circumstances that led to his prior defeat, ordering the capture of girls that appear similar to Zelda and killing the sages in charge of blessing the Master Sword so that it cannot be used against him.

Further, the Triforce piece grants him immortality; although he can show signs of aging, such as in The Wind Waker, he is invulnerable to everything but his own magic and sacred weapons such as the Master Sword, the Four Sword, Light Arrows and Silver Arrows. He has survived events as severe as having an entire castle collapse on him[lower-alpha 11] and being impaled by a sword. Once drastically injured, he can be magically imprisoned by divine intervention, but this is often not effective, since he can escape. If he is actually killed, his followers may resurrect him.[lower-alpha 12] If he cannot be revived outright, he will be reincarnated due to the curse placed by Demise in Skyward Sword.

Ganon has appeared in most games in the series, some of which hide his existence until late in the game. Ganon made his first appearance in The Legend of Zelda. Ganon invades Hyrule with his minions, stealing the Triforce of Power. To protect the world from Ganon, Princess Zelda breaks the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and scatters them across the land, but is then captured. She sends her nursemaid, Impa, to find someone to defeat Ganon. Impa discovers Link. He gathers the Triforce pieces and defeats Ganon, reducing him to a pile of ashes and recovering the Triforce of Power. Afterwards, he brings both the Triforces of Power and Wisdom to Zelda. Ganon makes no major appearance in the sequel Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, as it focuses on his minions' attempt to revive him by killing Link and spilling Link's blood over Ganon's ashes. If they succeed, Ganon's silhouette appears on the Game Over screen accompanied by his laugh.

He later appeared in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game A Link to the Past, trapped in a place called the Dark World—formerly called the Sacred Land, before Ganon corrupted it. The game focuses on Ganon's attempt to escape from the Dark World and conquer the Light World, utilizing minions such as the wizard Agahnim to sacrifice the seven descendants of the sages who sealed him away, in order to break the seal. Zelda summons Link to rescue her, but she is captured and sent to the Dark World. Once Link defeats Agahnim, he is sent to the Dark World, where he rescues the seven maidens, defeats Agahnim again, and pursues Ganon into his lair, where Ganon is defeated. Link finds the completed Triforce, and uses it to undo everything Ganon has done. In Link's Awakening, Link battles Dethl, a physical manifestation of the Wind Fish's nightmares. During the final battle, Dethl assumes several forms, all of which are based on creatures from Link's past. One of Dethl's forms is "Ganon's Shadow" and is constructed from Link's memories of his battle with Ganon in A Link to the Past.

He makes a major appearance in Ocarina of Time as Ganondorf; in the chronology of the series's story, it is his earliest appearance (excluding Demise in Skyward Sword). Ganondorf swears his allegiance to the King of Hyrule, in order to betray him and conquer Hyrule Castle. However, Zelda asks Link to take the Master Sword, a mystical weapon used to defeat evil. After Link finds all the items necessary to take the sword, Zelda and her nursemaid Impa are chased from Hyrule Castle. Once Link opens the door protecting the Master Sword and takes it, he falls into a deep sleep, allowing Ganondorf to steal the Triforce of Power from the room. Seven years later, Link awakens as an adult, and finds Hyrule corrupted by Ganondorf. Link collects the power of the seven sages—including Zelda, who is kidnapped after she reveals herself. He encounters Ganondorf, defeating him and escaping from the castle with Zelda. However, Ganondorf uses the Triforce of Power to turn into his bestial form. Link defeats him with the help of Zelda and the other sages, and Ganondorf is banished to the Sacred Realm, As he is sealed in the Sacred Realm, Ganondorf claims that when he breaks the seal, he will kill Link's descendants. Ganondorf does not make an appearance in Ocarina of Time's Nintendo 64 sequel Majora's Mask, but was referenced as the word "Evil" in the prologue. His race, the Gerudo, make a return as pirates.

Two Game Boy Color games, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, do not initially have anything to do with Ganon, but once both are linked together and both are completed, two of Ganon's minions, Koume and Kotake, seek to revive him by using Zelda and two oracles called Din and Nayru. Ganon is ultimately revived, but since Zelda was not sacrificed, he becomes a mindless beast and is defeated by Link.[15] Ganon does not make an appearance in the subsequent Game Boy Advance game Four Swords, which instead introduces the recurring villain Vaati.

Ganondorf appears in the GameCube game The Wind Waker. Following Ocarina of Time, in an alternate timeline, Ganondorf escaped from the Sacred Realm. As the Link of Ocarina of Time is nowhere to be found, the Hylians pray to the Goddesses to save Hyrule. The Goddesses respond by flooding the land with endless rain in order to destroy Ganondorf, driving the Hylian people to the mountaintops. When he is confronted in his fortress by Link, Ganondorf reveals his motives to capture Tetra, who is revealed to be the descendant of the Zelda from Ocarina of Time. After Link fails to defeat Ganondorf in their first encounter, Link finds the Master Sword and battles him in the sunken Hyrule Castle. Ganondorf explains his resentment of Hyrule, describing his country as one that was filled with death and despair, and that Hyrule was rich with life—that being his reason for trying to conquer it. However, before Ganondorf can use the Triforce to revert the flood, the King of Hyrule intervenes and wishes his kingdom to be totally destroyed to make room for the future. Though Ganondorf attempts to kill him and Tetra, An enraged Link drives the Master Sword into Ganondorf's head, killing him and turning him to stone as Hyrule is fully submerged underwater.

Ganon is largely absent in the Four Sword subseries. Instead, another power-hungry sorcerer, Vaati, is depicted as the main villain of the subseries. Despite this, Ganon is mentioned in Four Swords Adventures and makes a late appearance near the end of the game after having revealed his manipulation of Vaati. As Four Swords Adventures takes place centuries after Twilight Princess, it is also the first and only game in the series to feature a reincarnation of Ganon. In the game's backstory, Ganondorf was to be the guardian of the Gerudo and the desert but his heart grew twisted with each passing year, and he became obsessed with obtaining power at any cost. Banished by the Gerudo, he retrieved an evil magical trident from a pyramid, which transformed him into the bestial Ganon, and began to usurp power from others so that he could coat the world in darkness. After Vaati is defeated, Link and Zelda battle Ganon and seal him away within the Four Sword.

In Twilight Princess, Ganondorf appears in flashback midway through the game, though he is behind all of the events of the story.[16] Before the events of the game, revealed by the Hyrule Historia to be an alternate timeline where his deception is exposed, Ganondorf was captured by the Sages and condemned to death. As he was the bearer of the Triforce of Power, the Sages were unable to kill Ganondorf as he broke his chains and killed the Sage of Water while claiming the Sword of the Sages for himself. The Sages were forced to banish Ganondorf to the Twilight Realm, where he presented himself as a demonic deity to Zant, delegating his power and persuading him to attempt conquest of the light world.[17][18] Ganondorf does not appear again until the end of the game—in the throne of Hyrule Castle, proclaiming it as his own. He is challenged by Midna, prompting Ganondorf to possess the soulless Princess Zelda and attack Link before leaving her body and transforming into a feral version of Ganon. Midna recovers and teleports Link and Zelda to Hyrule Field before attempting to defeat Ganondorf when he reconstitutes himself, causing the castle to explode. Ganondorf defeats Midna, appearing on horseback to fight Link before engaging him in a final duel where he uses the Sages' sword. Link defeats Ganondorf, impaling him through the wound in his chest with the Master Sword. After getting up and uttering a few words,[19] the Triforce symbol on Ganondorf's hand disappears as he dies standing in place.

In the Nintendo DS game Phantom Hourglass, the direct sequel to The Wind Waker, Ganondorf appears in a cameo in the opening sequence that summarizes the plot of the latter game. He is not seen or mentioned in Spirit Tracks, the direct sequel to Phantom Hourglass.

While Ganondorf does not make an appearance in the Wii game Skyward Sword, his origin is foreshadowed. Demon King Demise, the main villain of the game, curses Link and Zelda before his impending death and states that his curse will see his hatred towards the descendants of Link and Zelda be reborn in an endless cycle. This curse ultimately comes to pass when Demise's hatred manifests in physical form as Ganondorf himself.

In the Nintendo 3DS game A Link Between Worlds, Ganon makes a short appearance in his normal form, though his past actions and influence greatly affect the course of events throughout the story and serves as the inspiration for Yuga. Yuga summons him back from his seal with the power of the seven sages, previously trapped within paintings by Yuga, and absorbs Ganon to take his power as his own. Becoming Yuga Ganon, Yuga reveals plans to complete the Triforce and remake both Lorule and Hyrule in his own image, but is defeated in this by Link. Ganon is mentioned by several characters and old legends, which describe his actions during the events of A Link to the Past, and his prior invasion between the events of Link's Awakening and A Link Between Worlds.

An incarnation of Ganon appears in Breath of the Wild, by this time known as the evil entity Calamity Ganon. Calamity Ganon takes forms similar to a boar and a spider. Mentioned to have terrorized Hyrule for ten millennia, causing the then-advanced civilization to dwindle back to its medieval state, Ganon forced opposition when the kingdom of Hyrule uncovered their ancestors' lost technology in the form of Guardians - deadly spider-like machines and four giant Divine Beasts, attempting to use them in preparation for his return. However, Ganon turned the Guardian robots against the Hyruleans while having creatures created from his being, called the Blights, take over the Divine Beasts, killing the champions chosen to pilot them. Princess Zelda's knight and companion, Link, was gravely injured during the attack, subsequently falling into a century-long slumber. This forced Zelda to use her power to seal Ganon, confining him to the ruins of Hyrule Castle, which lasted for a hundred years while the broken kingdom was being ravaged by nature over time. Ganon was resisting and continued to grow in power while trapped, which eventually led to Zelda awakening Link from his slumber to stop Ganon before he can break free and destroy the world.[20][21][22]

Eiji Aonuma said that his design team submitted designs for Ganon based on Twilight Princess to the developers of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[24] Ganon appears in the single-player The Subspace Emissary mode, allied with Bowser and Wario (in which, near the end they leave Tabuu's side to join Mario's side) as well as being a servant of Master Hand. His Final Smash is his "Dark Beast: Ganon" form from Twilight Princess, in which he transforms, charges across the screen, and then warps himself back onto the stage.[25]

Ganondorf appears as a playable character in the Zelda spin-off title Hyrule Warriors, revealed to have been permanently sealed when his soul was divided into fragments by a previous Link and placed in separate eras in time. But one fragment of Ganondorf's soul found the Triforce's overseer, the sorceress Cia, and corrupted her, purging her light side and transforming her into a dark sorceress. She created an army to gather the Triforce pieces and use its power to open gates across time to where the rest of his soul was imprisoned. But Ganondorf's purging of Cia's light side created the White Sorceress Lana, who helps Link and Zelda. When Ganondorf regained all but one fragment of his former self, he restored his physical body so he could take the Triforce from Cia. But Cia returned the Triforces of Wisdom and Courage back to their original bearers, Zelda and Link respectively, while temporarily sealing Ganondorf away again. Following Cia's defeat, Ganondorf regains the final fragment of his soul and is fully revived, though without the Triforce of Power, which had been claimed by Lana. He then leads a campaign with an army lead by himself and the summoned Ghirahim and Zant to gain the complete Triforce. Though he succeeds in obtaining all three Triforce pieces, his overconfidence causes him to underestimate his enemies, who dispose of Zant and Ghirahim before engaging Ganondorf himself at Ganon's Tower (formerly Hyrule Castle). Ganondorf is defeated, even after he uses the Triforce to revive himself as the Dark Beast Ganon, allowing Link, Zelda, and Lana to reclaim their respective Triforce pieces. Using the combined Triforce, the three reseal Ganondorf and reverse the damage he caused to Hyrule. Princess Zelda and Link return the Master Sword to its pedestal to completely restore the seal on Ganondorf's soul.

Ganondorf is available as an unlockable "Mystery Mushroom" costume in Super Mario Maker.

Ganon was the main villain of 1989's The Legend of Zelda cartoon, which was shown as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! in syndication that year. In the cartoon, Ganon was a brown-skinned anthropomorphic wild boar and a wizard. He was in possession of the Triforce of Power, and—despite having seemingly endless abilities and magical powers—lost every chance to steal the Triforce of Wisdom. He spent most of his time living in his subterranean lair, referred to as his "castle", which was located in the Underworld. He is disintegrated when attacked several times by Link's sword, Zelda's arrows, or the Triforce of Wisdom. He was voiced by Len Carlson.[citation needed]

In addition to the Zelda cartoon, Ganon (along with Link and Zelda) also appeared in Captain N: The Game Master, as a secondary villain in the episode "Quest for the Potion of Power".[26] This was something of a continuation of Ganon's appearance in the Zelda cartoon. The episode uses elements from The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link. During the episode, Ganon is revived, double-crosses Mother Brain, and is killed by the reflected magic on Link's shield.

In the South Park episode "Imaginationland Episode III", Ganondorf is seen as one of many evil characters battling the good characters. In the Robot Chicken episode "Shoe", Ganon appears briefly but is killed by Link, who frees Zelda shortly afterward.

Ganon is one of the most recognizable and popular villains in gaming and has been met with positive reception over the years. In 2010, Nintendo Power named him the best villain in Nintendo history.[27] In 2013, GamesRadar ranked him as the best villain in the history of video games.[28] Nevertheless, in 2007 Andrew Gordon of Cracked.com listed Ganondorf from Twilight Princess among the six most disappointing video game end bosses, writing "We went into this battle expecting Darth Maul, and what we got was C-3PO."[29]

GameSpot counted his appearance in Ocarina of Time among the "Top Ten Boss Fights."[30] GameSpot also included him in "Top Ten Video Game Villains".[31] He was the runner-up in GameFAQs' "Got Villains?" Character Battle, losing in the final to Final Fantasy's Sephiroth.[32]GameDaily ranked him the second on their lists of "Top Ten Nintendo Characters That Deserve Their Own Games" list.[33] and "Most Persistent Video Game Villains of All Time".[34] GamesRadar listed him second on their 2009 list of "The Top Video Game Villains who will Never Stay Dead".[35]IGN listed Ganon as one of the "Top 10 Characters In Need of a Spin-Off"[36] and ranked him third in their "Top 100 Videogames Villains" list.[37]

↑Ganon is the king of the Gerudo tribe in Ocarina of Time, and his given title as a boss in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons is "Evil Gerudo King".

↑In the Japanese versions of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, Ganon's human form is titled ="ja" xml:lang="ja" >大魔王 ガノンドロフ (lit. "Great Demon King Ganondorf"); in the latter, his beast form is titled ="ja" xml:lang="ja" >魔獣ガノン</span> (lit. "Demon Beast Ganon"). The North American release of Ocarina of Time uses "Great King of Evil Ganondorf" for his human form while the North American release of Twilight Princess uses "Dark Lord Ganondorf". While simply called "Ganon" in his bestial form, both Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild call him "Dark Beast Ganon".</span>

↑He uses magic in A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and The Adventure of Link, among other titles.

↑He changes between human and beast forms in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.

↑Ganon acrobatically dodges Link's swings in The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. In the former, he dual-wields swords.

↑Ganon flies in A Link to the Past, the TV series The Legend of Zelda, and Ocarina of Time. In Twilight Princess, he causes Princess Zelda to fly while possessing her.

↑Ganon can teleport himself and others by various means. He visibly uses this skill in the TV series The Legend of Zelda.Template:Elucidate In Ocarina of Time, he encloses Princess Zelda in a pink crystal and teleports her to his castle. In Twilight Princess, while in beast form, he uses portals to evade attack.

↑At the climax of Ocarina of Time, Ganon causes his castle to collapse in an attempt to kill Link and Zelda.

↑Ganon's minions fail to resurrect Ganon in The Adventure of Link, but partly succeed in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons.

↑Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (in Japanese). (Nintendo). "Rauru: ="ja" xml:lang="ja" >アタシたち 賢者は 六人そろえば 魔王ガノンドロフを 封印することが できるの。 ('If we, the six sages, come together, we will even be able to seal the Demon King Ganondorf.')"</span>

↑Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (in Japanese). (Nintendo). "Ganon: ="ja" xml:lang="ja" >おお...、俺は闇の魔王！！ ('Graah! I am the Demon King of Darkness!')"</span>

↑Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. (Nintendo). "Princess Zelda: King of Darkness, is an ancient demon reborn. The wielder of the trident!!"

↑Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. (Nintendo). "The King of Red Lions: He is the very same Ganon... The emperor of the dark realm the ancient legends speak of..."

↑Flagship. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages. (Nintendo). Game Boy Color. (2001-05-14) "Zelda: Since they could not sacrifice me in their final rite, the powers of darkness could only revive a mindless, raging Ganon."

↑Nintendo EAD. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. (Nintendo). Wii. (2006-11-19) "Ganondorf: Do not think this ends here... The history of Light and Shadow will be written in blood!"

↑Nintendo EAD. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. (Nintendo). Wii U/NX. (2016-06-14) "Old Man: I assume you have caught full sight of that atrocity swarming around the castle. That...is the Calamity Ganon. It brought ruin and corruption upon the kingdom of Hyrule 100 years ago. It appeared suddenly...destroying everything in its path. Leaving countless innocents in its wake. Over the last century, the kingdom's purest symbol, Hyrule Castle, has been able to contain that evil. But just barely. There it festers, building its strength for the moment it will unleash its blight upon the land once again. It would appear that moment is fast approaching"